Just wanted to post a simple process i have found for processing sim cards. I have tried processing them by shredding them in the past. I have also tried processing the whole chip. The problem with that is all the washing you have to do to remove your gold solution from all the left over material. Then after all that washing you have to concentrate your solutions down by evaporation. Pain in the but! Then if you just try and run the material without shredding it the sim card has a micro chip on the back side. That micro chip is on a piece of plastic that is glued into a recess in the sim card that creates a void where your gold solution will get trapped. The glue is a gel type and that causes problems also. On the reverse side (top) that you can see is the gold traces where the chip makes contact.
Now the easy way in any process is to segregate materials so you have less to process. I found a way to do just that with these. I boil the chips in a solution of NaOh to remove the gold, plastic, and the micro chip. When the plastic piece releases the gold is still attached to the top side on which it is plated to the copper traces and the micro chip is on the back side. After i do this i take all the and put them into a bucket with holes drilled into the bottom so it allows the plastic pieces with the gold plating attach to fall through, but not the chip housing itself. Like in the ap process. The good thing about this is that the foils are still attached to the plastic and you can get down right rough with them and the gold will still stay attached without breaking into fine pieces. Once the plastic pieces with the gold on it are separated you can then run them in ar without a problem. Washing the solution from this material is a whole lot easier also. All that's left is the spent micro chip and the thin piece of plastic it was attached to. It takes 100 grams of NaOh and 500 ml of water per 2 1/2 lbs of chips. These are placed in a stainless steel vessel and brought to near boiling for 2 hours. You need to stir every 30 minutes after you first place them in there to release the chips. Once you finish drain the liquid and wash the chips with hot water for about 30 minutes to remove any residual NaOh and then process with ar. Processing this way is simple and easier than any other method i have found. Please note hot NaOh is not to be taken lightly and needs to be treated with respect.
Now the easy way in any process is to segregate materials so you have less to process. I found a way to do just that with these. I boil the chips in a solution of NaOh to remove the gold, plastic, and the micro chip. When the plastic piece releases the gold is still attached to the top side on which it is plated to the copper traces and the micro chip is on the back side. After i do this i take all the and put them into a bucket with holes drilled into the bottom so it allows the plastic pieces with the gold plating attach to fall through, but not the chip housing itself. Like in the ap process. The good thing about this is that the foils are still attached to the plastic and you can get down right rough with them and the gold will still stay attached without breaking into fine pieces. Once the plastic pieces with the gold on it are separated you can then run them in ar without a problem. Washing the solution from this material is a whole lot easier also. All that's left is the spent micro chip and the thin piece of plastic it was attached to. It takes 100 grams of NaOh and 500 ml of water per 2 1/2 lbs of chips. These are placed in a stainless steel vessel and brought to near boiling for 2 hours. You need to stir every 30 minutes after you first place them in there to release the chips. Once you finish drain the liquid and wash the chips with hot water for about 30 minutes to remove any residual NaOh and then process with ar. Processing this way is simple and easier than any other method i have found. Please note hot NaOh is not to be taken lightly and needs to be treated with respect.
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